International Journal of Horticulture and Ornamental Plants

IJHOP

Vol. 2(1), pp. 027-036, December, 2016. www.premierpublishers.org, ISSN: 2141-502X

Research Article

Influence of diluted seawater

Physiological and biochemical
common Egyptian turfgrass

irrigation on the
characteristics of

Mahmoud A. Hegazi 1* and Ismael A. Khatab2

1
2

Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, 33516, Egypt.

Genetics Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, 33516, Egypt.
The objectives of the present study were to exploitation of seawater in turfgrass irrigation, thus
providing fresh water for drinking and essential crops irrigation. Pots experiment was
conducted at Kaferelsheikh University Farm during the warm season (May-September) of 2014
and 2015 seasons on Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Swartz) and Bermudagrass
(Cynodon dactylon Cynodon transvaalensis) turfgrass. Seawater was diluted with freshwater
to obtain the required percentages (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80% seawater). Each pot was
received 200 ml of the suitable diluted seawater twice a weekly throughout the study course.
Data were collected on turf vegetation, plant succulence, leaf firing and turf quality beside some
bio and chemical constituents. The results showed that, low percentages (10-30%) of seawater
surpassed the higher percentages or control, in most studied characters.

Key words: Seashore paspalum, Bermudagrass, Turfgrass, diluted seawater, irrigation.

INTRODUCTION
The demand for salinity tolerant turfgrass is increasing
due to augmented use of low quality water or seawater
for turf irrigation and the growing turfgrass industry in
coastal areas mainly with the diffusion of tourist pastures
and beaches. Drought spread and irrigation water lack
became the most urgent global problems especially in
Egypt after the latest developments in the upstream of
the River Nile. So, the availability of adequate water in
terms of quality and quantity will be the number one issue
st
affecting turfgrass management in the 21 century. Since
Egypt, overlooking on both Mediterranean Sea and Red
Sea, where they could be diluted and used as accessory
source for irrigation of some salt-tolerant plant species.
Therefore, there is a great need for enhancing salt
tolerant turfgrass to survive under such stressful
conditions (Glenn et al., 1999). Turfgrass must maintain
cosmetic appeal, adequate growth, and persistence

under variable salinity levels in both soil and irrigation

water (Lee et al., 2004).
Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Swartz)
belongs to the family Poeceae. It grows along the
coastline as strand vegetation in many tropical and
subtropical areas of the world. It is a perennial creeping
grass that is stoloniferous and rhizomatous. It forms a
thick mat of growth and has dark-green leaves with
shinny waxy leaf coat (Zinn, 2004).

*Corresponding author: Dr. Mahmoud A. Hegazi

Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture,
Kafrelsheikh
University,
33516,
Egypt.
Tel.:
00201066033059,
Fax:
0020479102930,
E-mail:
abohegazi@yahoo.com

Influence of diluted seawater irrigation on the Physiological and biochemical characteristics of common Egyptian turfgrass

Hegazi and Khatab

028

Table A. Initial physical and chemical analysis of the experimental soil

(average of both seasons).

Sa
nd

Silt

Cla
y

Soil
textu
re

8.1
60.
25.
Silty
3
01
63
clay
Soluble cations (meq/l)
+
+
++
K
Ca
Mg
+
+
Na
5.6
0.1
3.4
3.30
0
8
6

EC

pH

mmhos/
cm
0.90

7.85

Tot Tot
al N al P
ppm
23

O
M
%

11

0.4
5

Soluble anions (meq/l)

CO3
HC
Cl
SO
-O3
4
20.0 29.
5.6
4
00
0

Table B. Chemical analysis of seawater and tap water (average of both

seasons)

Sampl
e

Seawat
er
Freshw
ater

pH

EC

Na

Cl

Co
3

8.
20
7.
15

dS
-1
m
50.
91
3.8

pp
m
116
00
333
.5

Ca
++

Mg
++

Meq/l
578
.2
1.8

Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon transvaalensis) cv.

Tifway 419 belongs to family Poeceae and originated in
the Middle East. It is the primary warm-season turfgrass
for golf and is tolerant of low mowing heights; therefore,
some cultivars are used on golf course greens (Teuton et
al., 2005). Seashore paspalum is a relatively new
turfgrass for the desert southwest and has greater salt
tolerance than bermudagrass (Marcum and Murdoch,
1990). However, far less is known regarding the
performance of paspalum under optimal as well as deficit
irrigation regimes. To date there have been no studies
that have examined the performance of paspalum during
extended periods of deficit irrigation.
+

The main toxic components of seawater is Na and Cl ,

which interferes with the normal physiological processes,
such as enzyme activities and protein synthesis, as well
as causing osmotic imbalances (Munns and Tester,
2008). Salinity cause many impositions as ion toxicities
(e.g., Na and Cl), ionic imbalances, osmotic stress and
soil permeability problems (Ashraf et al., 2008).
In most of the glycophytic grasses like Cynodon, salinity
+

tolerance is positively correlated with Na and Cl

secretion through salt glands (Marcum, 1999). Halophytic
grasses are highly salt tolerant due to their ability to
exclude salt from the internal tissues. Tolerance to
salinity in the halophytic grasses is facilitated by the
development of adventitious roots and a superior ability
to maintain negative membrane potential in root cells,
+
resulting in greater retention of K in shoots (Teakle et al.,
2013).

1.
7
0.
9

N
%

27

189

15.
5

7.4

1.
8
0.
6

ppm
113.
32
0.4

24
7
4.
88

Salt tolerance in plants is generally associated with low

+
uptake and accumulation of Na , which is mediated
through the control of influx and/ or by active efflux from
the cytoplasm to the vacuoles and also back to the
growth medium (Jacoby, 1999).
Managers for perennial turfgrass must deal with problems
of reduced growth, tissue dehydration, nutritional
imbalances and specific ion toxicities, slow recovery from
injury, and poor long term persistence that can be caused
by salinity stress (Carrow and Duncan, 1998). Sodium
chloride (NaCl) is the major compound contributing
salinity in soils and more salt-tolerant turfgrass are
required to cope this problem (Harivandi et al., 1992).
Biochemical pathways leading to products and processes
that improve salt tolerance are likely to act addiditively
and probably synergisticalllly (Lyengar and Reddy, 1996)
.Totals protein contents of leaves changes and strongly
affected in response to salinity (Alamgir and Ali, 1999).
This study aimed to measure the tolerances extent of
common
Egyptian
warm
season
turfgrass
{(Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon, L.), cv. Tifway 419
and Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Swartz)}
to diluted seawater irrigation.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Pots experiment was conducted at Kaferelsheikh
University Farm during warm seasons (May-September
of 2014 and 2015) to study the effect of diluted seawater

Influence of diluted seawater irrigation on the Physiological and biochemical characteristics of common Egyptian turfgrass

Int. J. Hort. Ornam. Plants

irrigation on Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum

Swartz) and Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon
Cynodon transvaalensis) Turfgrass.
Sods (5 cm 5 cm) of studied turfgrass were transplanted
into 16 cm plastic pots filled with silty clay soil (local
costal area soil) and allowed to grow four weeks under
freshwater irrigation to reach uniform and equal size.
Turfgrass were clipped by scissors biweekly throughout
the experiment at the cutting height of 15 mm. The
required quantity of seawater was collected from Baltem
beach, Kafer El-Sheikh, Egypt. Seawater was diluted with
freshwater to obtain the required percentages of
seawater / freshwater (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and
80 %). High seawater percentages (80, 70 and
sometimes 60% seawater) were excluded later due to
poor results or plants die. Irrigation was repeated twice a
weekly at rate 200 ml per pot throughout the study
course. Each pot monthly received 2.5 g of NPK
(15:15:15) beginning from one month after sodding.

029

100 ml with 0.067 M phosphate buffer) and 0.1 ml of

enzyme extract. Peroxidase (POD) activity was carried
out spectrophotometrically using guaiacol / H2O2 as
substrate (Lobarzewski et al., 1990).
SDS-protein electrophoresis
Leaves (~0.5 g) were homogenized to obtained protein
extracts by mechanically grinding in 500 l of the protein
extraction buffer (62.5 mM Tris-Hcl, pH 6.8, 2 % SDS, 10
% glycerol, 5 % -mercaptoethanol, 5 M Urea and 0.01 %
bromo-phenol blue) and mixed well by vortexing. Protein
extracts were centrifuged at 14,000 rpm for 10 min at 4C
and apply in 12 % (SDS-PAGE) according to (Laemmli,
1970), Molecular weights of different bands were
calibrated with a mixture of standard protein markers
(Molecular Weight Marker, M. W. 14.000 - 66.000). The
banding profile was stained by Coomase blue dye then
photographed and scored.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

At the end of the experiment, data were collected on
shoot growth, leaf area, plant succulence (ratios of the
shoot fresh weights to dry weights). Leaf firing and turf
quality were visually measured by ten evaluators as
follow: Leaf firing was estimated as the total percentage
of chlorotic leaf area, with 0 % corresponding to no leaf
firing, and 100 % as totally brown leaves. Likewise, turf
quality was visually estimated based on a scale of 1-9,
with 9 as green, dense and uniform turf, and 1 as thin
and completely brown turf (Alshammary et al., 2003).
Leaf area was measured by portable laser leaf area
meter (CI-202 model). The canopy total green color was
measured using a portable chlorophyll meter (Minolta
SPAD-502, Minolta co., ltd. Japan). Plant roots were
harvested, washed with fresh water and roots characters
were recorded. Both shoots and roots were oven dried at
o
70 C for 72 h to determine both roots and shoots dry
weights. Shoots growth rate was calculated as follows:
(Dry weight of each treatment / Dry weight of fresh water
irrigated plants (control)100. The experimental design
was a Randomized Complete Block Design with five
replications .
Proline content, catalase and peroxidase activity
Leaf samples (500 mg) were crushed with 10 ml of 3 %
5-sulfosalicylic acid. Proline content was determined
spectrophotometrically at 520 nm (Bates, 1973). The
method as described by Sadasivam and Manickam
(1996) was used for the assay of catalase activity, 1 g of
freshly leaf sample was homogenized in 3 ml of 0.067 M
phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) The catalase (CAT) activity
was determined in the homogenates by measuring the
decrease in absorption at 240 nm in a 3 ml of reaction
mixture containing (0.16 ml of 10 % W/V H2O2 diluted to

Effect of diluted seawater irrigation on Seashore

paspalum and Bermudagrass turfgrass
Turf vegetation
All aerial parts growth characters recorded a steadily
increase whenever seawater percentage increased till 10
% and sometimes 20 %, then it has been declining till 50
% which recorded the absolutely lowest values (Table 1
and Fig., 1). The highest shoot growth rate (1.23 and
0.78 g dry wt./week) and shoot fresh and dry weights
(2.58 and 2.49 g) and (0.62 and 0.45 g) were resulted
from 10 % seawater for seashore paspalum and
Bermudagrass, respectively. Seashore paspalum treated
with 20 % seawater and Bermudagrass at 10 % gave the
2
widest leaf area (6.03 and 4.92 mm ). Higher salinity
caused larger decreases in growth characters than lower
salinity (Qian et al., 2000). Likewise, (Dudeck and
Peacock, 1993) obtained 50 % growth reduction when
Tifway Bermudagrass treated with salinity. At low
percentages of seawater, plant may be benefits of the
seawater minerals as a fertigatin (Phuntshoa et al.,
2011). Seawater (10-30%) can be used as a fertigation of
Conocarpus erectus plant (El-Mahrouk et al., 2010).
As for roots, both root length and shoots/ roots %
followed the same behavior of aerial parts (Table 2).
Seawater at 10 % surpassed both control treatment and
high seawater percentages (20, 30, 40 and 50%).
Conversely, control treatment excelled others in roots
fresh and dry weights for both of seashore paspalum or
Bermudagrass. Presence of excessive salt (NaCl)
outside the cell can induce an osmotic stress which may
adversely affect all plant growth Marcum (2006).

Influence of diluted seawater irrigation on the Physiological and biochemical characteristics of common Egyptian turfgrass

Hegazi and Khatab

030

Table 1. Effect of diluted seawater irrigation on shoot growth rate, leaf area, shoots fresh and dry weight
(average of both seasons).

Seawater
%

0
10
20
30
40
20
60

Shoot growth
rate
(g
dry
wt./week)
P
B
0.94b 0.65f
1.23a 0.78d
0.86c 0.49h
0.67e 0.27j
0.51g 0.13l
0.38i
0.08m
0.17k 0.07n

Leaf area
2
(mm)

Shoots F.W.
(g)

Shoots F.W.
(g)

P
4.56g
5.88b
6.03a
5.42c
4.11h
3.39k
3.22l

P
2.43bc
2.58ab
2.44bc
2.25cd
1.86e
1.67e
0.83f

P
0.57b
0.62a
0.55c
0.48d
0.34h
0.25j
0.09l

B
3.74i
4.92d
4.81e
4.78f
3.63j
3.08m
2.65n

B
2.37bcd
2.49a
2.30bcd
2.13d
1.63e
0.92f
0.77f

B
0.40f
0.45e
0.36g
0.30i
0.21k
0.07m
0.06n

P= Seashore paspalum, B= Bermudagrass

Means within a column having the same letters are not signicantly different in Duncans
Multiple Range Test.

Figure 1. Effect of diluted seawater irrigation on (A) Seashore paspalum (B)

Bermudagrass turfgrass.

Table 2. Effect of diluted seawater irrigation on roots measurements (average of both

seasons).

Seawater
%
0
10
20
30
40
20
60

Root length
(cm)
P
B
14.08e 15.26d
16.13a 15.78b
15.50c 11.67g
12.27f
7.05i
8.44h
3.55k
5.82j
1.73m
3.441
1.00n

Roots F.W.
(g)
P
B
4.21a 3.64d
3.96b 3.27e
3.88c
3.18f
3.11g
2.67i
2.82h 2.45k
2.48j 1.06m
1.421 1.01n

Roots D.W.
(g)
P
B
2.96a 2.24e
2.85b 2.04g
2.80c 2.01h
2.30d
1.75j
2.05f 1.52k
1.83i
0.52l
0.50m 0.37n

Shoots/ Roots
(%)
P
B
19.33e 21.47c
21.78b 22.10a
20.16d 17.94g
19.03f 17.23h
16.79i
13.72j
13.36k
8.71l
8.46n
8.50m

P= Seashore paspalum, B= Bermudagrass

Means within a column having the same letters are not signicantly different in Duncans
Multiple Range Test.

Plant succulence
Turf succulence increased steadily greater the seawater
percentage, as it reached a peak at 30 % seawater then
began to gradually decrease in Bermudagrass whereas,
in Seashore paspalum the succulence continued to
increase till reached the peak at 50 % seawater then it
began to gradually decline (Fig., 2). Increasing
succulence in the presence of salt is an adaptive
mechanism for ion dilution (Debez et al., 2004 and

Pessarakli and Touchane, 2006). Salinity tolerance of

turfgrass plants may be due to its ability to retain cell
turgor despite fluctuations in water availability. (Marcum
and Murdoch, 1994).
Turf quality
Turf quality under salt stress as indicated by visual
ratings is presented in Figure 2. It was noticed at the
outset that, there was an increase in turf quality (either

Influence of diluted seawater irrigation on the Physiological and biochemical characteristics of common Egyptian turfgrass

10

10

8
Turf quality

Plant succulence (g)

Int. J. Hort. Ornam. Plants

6
4

Paspalum

Bermuda

6
Paspalum

Bermuda

031

0
0

10

20
30
Seawater (%)

40

50

60

10

20
30
Seawater (%)

40

50

60

Leaf firing (%)

50
40

Paspalum

30

Bermuda

20
10
0
0

14 21 28 35 42 49 56
Seawater (%)

Figure 2. Effect of diluted seawater irrigation on plant succulence, turf quality and leaf firing of Seashore
paspalum and Bermudagrass.

turf texture, color and uniformity) as seawater percentage

increased till it reached the peak at 10 % seawater, then
started to gradually decline with increasing seawater
percentage, where turf texture became more coarsely
and unacceptable. Generally, turf texture was much
better than control especially in seashore paspalum as it
continued to be decent till 40 % seawater before that
strongly affected compared to Tifway bermudagrass
which was more affected and lower turf quality at the
same seawater percentage. This results are in harmony
with those of Uddin et al.(2009) how stated that, turf
quality decreased with increasing salinity level. Local P.
vaginatum was unaffected at the lowest salinity levels
-1
(EC at 0-50 dSm ). A large reduction in visual quality
ratings and chlorophyll fluorescence was expected
because of the physiological drought expected from the
salinity treatments (Dudeck and Peacock, 1993)
Leaf firing
Data revealed that, leaf firing constantly increased as
seawater percentage increased although, the salinity
appeared to be less harmful for P. vaginatum comparing
to Tifway bermudagrass at all seawater percentages (Fig.
2). At low seawater ratios (10-20 %), P. vaginatum leaves
did not show any effect, then they start to gradually
affected when seawater ratio increased. Leaf firing was

moderate and turf quality was acceptable in the

beginning till 40 % seawater in Tifway bermudagrass and
50 % seawater in seashore P. vaginatum then, it reached
unreasonable degree of less turf quality. This may be due
to that seashore P. vaginatum more tolerant to high
salinity rates than Tifway bermudagrass and the adverse
effect of higher seawater rates on turf quality (Uddin et
al., 2009). In this way, it can disrupt the water balance of
plants and cause necrosis or loss of leaves, resulting in
growth reduction (Sykes and Wilson, 1988 and Tominaga
and Ueki, 1991).
Chemical constituents
Characterization of germplasm using biochemical has got
special attention due to its increased use in crop
improvement and the selection of desirable genotypes for
plant crops (Farshadfar and Farshadfar, 2008). A biotic
stresses like salinity severely reduce the productivity of
most plants. Salt tolerance is a polygenic, highly intricate
trait dependent on genotype and plant developmental
stage. Activities of antioxidant enzymes have been
reported to increase in most plants (Ashraf, 2009). These
enhanced activities of antioxidant enzymes (CAT and
POD) helps to protect the plants from damages caused
by salt induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) (Yasar et
al.,2008).

Influence of diluted seawater irrigation on the Physiological and biochemical characteristics of common Egyptian turfgrass

Hegazi and Khatab

032

Figure 3. Protein banding patterns of Bermudagrass and Seashore

paspalum lanes from 0 to 50 represent seawater dilution , M : marker.

SDS-protein electrophoresis
SDS-PAGE, total proteins were extracted from leaves of
seawater-treated and salt-untreated plants. Comparing
the protein profiles between control plants and those
treated with different salt concentrations using SDSPAGE showed that treatment induced only few changes
in the pattern of proteins. Bands intensity was much differ
in treated genotypes. Protein SDS -PAGE show
differences among the studied two common grasses in
the intensity and number of bands (Fig. 3.). This result
might be attributed to that the study of the resistant and
susceptible genotypes differs under seawater stress. The
results of SDS-PAGE proteins leaf revealed a total
number of 11 bands in seashore showed that all bands
are common (monomorphic), however they differed in
density and intensity based on salt stress since most of
bands show higher expression than control, e.g. band
around 29KDa was very faint in control and gave dark
under salt (10, 20 and 30) and become less density
under (40 and 50). On the other hand in bermudagrass
only five bands and gave different affect to salt those
bands doesn't affected under salt stress in lower
concentrations till 40 % but it affected and gives higher
expression under high salt (50 %) these finding in
harmony with (Henry, 2007), who suggested paspalum
may be better able to survive prolonged periods of stress.
In order to distinguish stress responses from
developmental changes in protein accumulation, both
control and treated leaves were harvested at the same
time to minimize experimental error. It is necessary to
study the salt stress responses at the protein level

(Malviya et al. 2008). Since, most of proteins undergo

post-translational modification, which is extremely
important for protein activities and subcellular
localization.
Total green color
It is well known that, chlorophyll contents one of the most
important measurements and more expression about
plant health. There was upward increase in turf
greenness at the low seawater percentages (10-30 %)
then it took downward trend with increasing seawater
percentage in irrigation water (Fig. 4). Apparently
Seashore paspalum was more salt-tolerant as it
remained greener at higher salinity levels compared to
Tifway Bermudagrass. Total green color of Seashore
paspalum was higher than Tifway Bermudagrass at all
seawater percentages (Lee et al., 2004 and Marcum et
al., 2005). High salt levels in the root zone cause a
physiological drought which may be the reason for
photosynthesis reduction (Carrow et al., 2001).
Proline contents
Proline accumulation is believed to play adaptive roles in
plant stress tolerance and used as a parameter of
selection for stress tolerance. Thus, the proline content is
a good indicator for screening salt tolerant varieties in
under stress condition and plays a vital role in osmotic
adjustment under stressful environmental conditions
(Bayoumi et al., 2008). Accumulation of oraganic
osmotica like proline in both turfgrass cultivars showed a

Influence of diluted seawater irrigation on the Physiological and biochemical characteristics of common Egyptian turfgrass

Int. J. Hort. Ornam. Plants

300

prolien contents %

250

Total green color (SPAD)

033

25

200

20

150

15
10

100
Paspalum
50

Bermuda

50
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

40

30

20

10

Seashore paspalum

Seawater (%)

0
Bermuda grass

Figure 4. Effect of diluted seawater irrigation on total green color and proline contents of Seashore paspalum
and Bermudagrass.

Catalase activity mol hydrogen

peroxdias g-1 Fw/ sec

Proxidaes activity mol hydrogen

peroxdias g-1 Fw/ sec

20.00

15.00

10.00

3
1

5.00
0.00
50

40

30

20

Seashore paspalum

10

0
Bermuda grass

0
50

40

30

20

Seashore paspalum

10

0
Bermuda grass

Figure 5. Effect of diluted seawater irrigation on catalase and proxidaes activities of Seashore paspalum and
Bermudagrass

significant increase under salt stress (Fig. 4). These

organic substances increased with increase in salt stress
level till 30% and decreased with increasing the salt
concentration, Higher accumulation of proline could be
one of the important factors for the adaptation of this
grass to saline environments. Such adaptation has also
been reported earlier (Ashraf and Harris, 2004; Ashraf et
al., 2002; Lu et al., 2007).
OD and POD are the core antioxidant in plants, and play
a key role in scavenging superoxide ion and reducing
membrane damage. Under stress conditions, the
intensity and rise or fall of salt resistance related
enzymes activity were related closely to plant species or
varieties (Dhindsa et al., 1981). Enzyme activity
increased with the stress increasing or first increased and
then decreased, the activity first increased and then
decreased under salt intercross stress condition, and in
the same treatment condition, both SOD and POD
activities were decreased along with the extension of
treatment time. This study showed that SOD and POD
activity had different change patterns under different
intercross salt stress; this dynamic progress was related

to that the low concentration of salt stress is able to

improve the effects related to salt stress. In contrast,
under severe salt stress, protective enzyme system was
breached and enzyme activity was inhibited strongly,
leading to further reduce in the moderate activity.
Activities of SOD and POD decreased so obviously that it
was not enough to clear free radicals in the body; then it
resulted in lipid peroxidation and the damage of
membrane system (Zhao et al., 2010 and Yu et al., 2007)
Mineral constituents
+

Data presented in Table (3) showed that, some ions (Na ,

+
Cl ) behaved an upward trend whereas, the others (K ,
++
++
Ca , Mg ) turned downward whenever seawater
percentage increased. Also, ashes percentage turned
upward till 40% seawater then behaved descending
direction. While organic matter percentage turned
downward direction. Uptake of essential ions (both
+
+
++
++
cations and anions) including Na , K , Ca , Mg and Cl
have been reported to be suppressed in various species
by high concentrations of NaCl, in irrigation waters
(Rubinigg et al., 2003).

Influence of diluted seawater irrigation on the Physiological and biochemical characteristics of common Egyptian turfgrass

Hegazi and Khatab

034

Table 3. Effect of diluted seawater irrigation on mineral contents (average of both seasons).
Na+

Seawater
%
0
10
20
30
40
20
60

P
0.55n
2.79l
3.05k
4.88h
7.64f
8.06e
8.45c

B
0.59m
3.62j
4.50i
13.54g
15.07d
15.61b
15.77a

ClP
1.10m
9.56h
9.93g
12.19e
13.05c
15.22b
16.09a

K+
(mg/g.dry weight)
B
P
B
0.87n
29.33a
16.01g
6.78l
28.06b
15.82h
6.86k
27.53c
14.31j
7.83j
25.82d
12.56k
9.55i
23.60e
10.13l
10.17f
21.22f
8.74m
12.40d
14.86i
6.71n

Ca++

Mg++

Ashs

Organic mater
(%)

P
2.85a
2.81b
2.77c
2.54d
2.29e
2.15g
2.21f

B
2.12h
2.09i
1.89j
1.73n
1.78m
1.83l
1.88k

P
4.42b
4.65a
3.79c
3.21d
3.02g
2.75h
2.06j

B
3.16e
3.08f
2.57i
1.91k
1.52l
1.33m
1.24n

P
8.42n
17.45j
19.04f
19.25e
20.13c
18.61i
16.03l

B
9.15m
18.65h
19.82d
20.77b
22.08a
19.01g
17.44k

P
92.53d
93.42b
93.07c
88.26f
84.32h
76.74j
72.95l

B
93.02c
93.71a
92.49d
89.55e
85.06g
78.12i
74.68k

P= Seashore paspalum, B= Bermudagrass

Means within a column having the same letters are not signicantly different in Duncans Multiple Range Test.

++

++

Soluble salts such as Na , Cl , K , Ca , and Mg inhibit

water movement into plant tissue (Huck et al., 2000)
High salt levels in the root zone cause a condition in
plants known as physiological drought. Physiological
drought is very similar to normal drought as it causes
reductions in growth rate, photosynthesis, cytokinin
synthesis and transpiration rate (Carrow et al., 2001).

CONCLUSION
Research results showed a significant improvement in
plant growth and most studied characters at low levels of
diluted seawater compared to freshwater only or high
levels of diluted seawater. So, it viable to use low levels
of diluted seawater to irrigate some Egyptian turfgrass as
an alternative irrigation source in order to save freshwater
for drinking and essential crops irrigation.

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Citation: Hegazi MA, Khatab IA (2016). Influence of
diluted seawater irrigation on the Physiological and
biochemical characteristics of common Egyptian
turfgrass. International Journal of Horticulture and
Ornamental Plants 2(1): 027-036.

Copyright: 2016. Hegazi and Khatab. This is an openaccess article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original author and source are cited.

Influence of diluted seawater irrigation on the Physiological and biochemical characteristics of common Egyptian turfgrass